The Vicar Takes A Wife

The story opens with a beaten up SUSANNA, a beautiful 23-year-old prostitute who's just shot a man and is getting ready to run away.

We cut to HOSEA, the awkward 35-year-old vicar of an English village. He greets people outside the church as two young ladies flirt with him. He exchanges a few words with LADY GODFREY, who demands he come to dinner.

Later that night, Hosea dreams that God tells him to marry a prostitute. Worried about the meaning of his dream, he visits Bishop Pringle to ask for advice. The bishop orders him on a three-month sabbatical to find a wife.

At another dinner with Lady Godfrey, she orders him to attend a ball in London with her son, SIR SIMON, to find a wife in order to keep his job as vicar of the parish.

In London at the ball, Hosea encounters five husband-hunting women who scare him off. He flees the ball and finds himself at a brothel. He sees a prostitute who’s an opium addict and panics and runs away . . . all the way to Texas.

In Texas, Susanna jumps off the roof of a saloon into Hosea’s arms to escape an angry client. Hosea catches her but falls into manure. Susanna quarrels with Hosea and the client then runs away.

Hosea strolls through town to find a place to stay but has no luck. He sees Susanna again and asks for her help. She reluctantly does so and takes him to a stable. The next day, Hosea meets Edna as he walks by the Golden Spoke Saloon. She invites him to stay there and he gladly accepts, oblivious to the fact it's a brothel. When he finds out, he doesn't come out of his room for hours.

Hosea wins everyone's affection with his angelic singing voice— everyone except Susanna. He decides to stay and promises to teach the brothel ladies how to read. Susanna is mean to him and plies him with chores to try to get him to leave.

One night, they hear screams and sounds of struggle coming from Claudine's room. Susanna and Hosea knock down the door, but it's too late. She's dead. Susanna tries to shoot the culprit but Hosea stops her. They embrace.

After Claudine's funeral, Hosea meets with Reverend and Mrs. Albright. He asks for their help in giving the women of the brothel a decent life. They refuse, appalled at his ideas.

Back at the saloon, Susanna bets herself at poker to pay off her contract. Hosea gets there just in time to help her, even though she clearly doesn't want his help. When Hosea wins, a brawl ensues as the two other players whip out their pistols. The saloon owner’s shotgun interrupts. He's not letting Susanna go. "You're too pretty to lose,” he says.

The other ladies cause a distraction as Susanna runs away and breaks the sheriff’s nose. Hosea follows.

After they jump onto a moving train, Susanna discovers Hosea has been shot. She tends his wound. Hosea confesses he ran away from God but is retuning home to marry a prostitute. Susanna, needing to flee the country to escape the law, manipulates Hosea into marrying her, saying he needs someone to look after him while he recovers.

On the steamship to England, Susanna tells Hosea how her preacher father sold her to a trapper passing by on the road because he needed a horse. Instead, she ran away with a gentleman who promised to “dress you in silk and satin.”

When they enter the village, they encounter Sir Simon, who was the man Susanna shot and left for dead in the opening scene.

The village doesn't like Susanna because she’s a beautiful American. Mrs. Fitzgerald, Hosea’s housekeeper, discovers their façade. She comes up with a plan to make Susanna plain to be more appealing. It backfires after a day of Susanna and Hosea visiting the villagers.

Meanwhile, Sir Simon tries to spend more time with Susanna by suggesting they plan the summer ball together. However, rumors spread that Susanna and Sir Simon are having an affair when someone catches him forcibly kissing her.

At the ball, Sir Simon threatens Susanna. She is forced to leave with him for London to save Hosea's reputation. The following Sunday, Hosea confesses to the congregation his love for Susanna and God's vision for him to marry a prostitute. He quits his job in the middle of church and rushes to London to bring back Susanna.

Hosea finds Sir Simon at a gentlemen’s club. He plays poker to win Susanna back but loses. He fights Sir Simon, who tries to shoot him. Hosea flings the gun out the window and knees him in the groin. The police burst in to arrest Sir Simon.

Hosea finds Susanna tied to the bed in Sir Simon’s room. He confesses his love but tells her she doesn’t have to stay. She decides to stay. They kiss.

Later, Lady Godfrey visits the vicarage as Susanna and Hosea pack. She gives her blessing to them so Hosea can keep his job.